For example, a player inputs flat articles such as medals or coins for playing a game with conventional slot machines, which are manually replenished with medals or coins because it is difficult to mechanize the handling of medals or coins. As personnel expenses are soaring nowadays, it is desired to save manpower and to automate the operation. Therefore, pachinko balls whose handling is comparatively easily mechanized are used as game play media instead of medals, coins, etc., and replenishment of the slot machine with pachinko balls and collection of pachinko balls are automated.
Since the conventional slot machines may coexist with pachinko ball machines in a single gaming house, the number of pachinko balls corresponding to one medal with respect to the economic value is five, a predetermined reference number. The reference number is fixedly predetermined for the economic value of one medal. For example, for a player to play a game with five, 10, or 15 pachinko balls, one gaming line is applied with five pachinko balls corresponding to one medal; three gaming lines are applied with 10 pachinko balls corresponding to two medals; five gaming lines are applied with 15 pachinko balls corresponding to three medals. The gaming line means a symbol position combination on drums. Assume that when three symbols are displayed on each of three slots, five gaming lines are applied. With such a slot machine, after inputting pachinko balls to a slot, a player handles a game play lever for rotating the three drums on which symbol patterns are displayed, then presses push button stop switches provided on the main unit of the slot machine in sequence for stopping rotation of the drums. A predetermined number of pachinko balls are paid out to the player from the slot machine in response to symbol display combinations after the drum rotation stops if the player wins the game.
However, at such a conventional slot machine, the player may drop or pick up pachinko balls during game play and four or less pachinko balls may remain as an incomplete number of pachinko balls, in which case no gaming lines can be set and the remaining pachinko balls are returned to the player, who has a problem with the incomplete number of pachinko balls.